How a Float Center ended up with a Kombucha Taproom

A little over a year ago, a kombucha taproom wasn't even a thought. Our background was in float tank and floatation therapy and Mark and I were firmly content introducing people to floating and other life changing therapies and helping some peeps get their own centers ready to go.

Amy and Marlin, post-transplant surgery.

In addition to that, I was in the midst of a family crisis. My Father has an immune issue that causes his body to attack his own organs, particularly his liver. He had his first liver transplant 15 years ago, but as it began to fail again the doctors were not confident he would get a second one in time. When I wasn't working, I was flying home to PA helping to take care of the family business, which is food manufacturing, and helping around the farm.

My Father and I are entrepreneurial souls and during the long downtime in the hospital, we'd dream up businesses, talk out the fine points, the budget and look online for perfect spots. While we had often said we should start a business together, time had gotten away from us and our businesses were imaginary and for the purpose of entertainment.

But then a miracle happened. We had a window of 8 days where he had a chance to be able to take a liver and sure enough, at the last moment a liver came through. He lived!

We recognize an opportunity when we see one and with a second chance on the horizon, we decided to finally start a business together. So after a few long conversations, phone calls and visits, we decided to focus on something we were both passionate about - fermentation. The Kombucha Taproom was born!

Kombucha is one way we show off our gut healthy fermentation skills, but that isn't everything we have on tap. You can also find a Water Kefir, a juice based probiotic drink (this month's Cranberry Sparkler is amazing), and few other natural selections made with fresh juices, local honey, and you never know what experiments our brew master may be up to.

Marlin with one of his many National and International awards for his cheese.

Keeping with a live culture theme, we also have a selection of our raw milk cheese from our other collaboration, Farmstead Fresh, European style cultured organic butter, and Labne with Zataar. We also recently added a Raw Sauerkraut!

These are a labor of love, made with careful attention to the source of each ingredient all the way through a production that keeps the cultures alive and most beneficial to your health.